Ameritrade Files Registration Statement for Secondary Offering on Behalf of Certain Shareholders.

Business Editors

OMAHA, Neb.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 31, 2003

Ameritrade Holding Corporation (Nasdaq:AMTD) today filed a registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission for a proposed offering by certain shareholders to sell approximately 44.1 million shares of their common stock. Concurrent with the offering, the Company plans to purchase 7.5 million shares from the selling shareholders at the net public offering price and expects to use cash on hand to fund the purchases.

In the offering to the public, Bain Capital, Silver Lake Partners and TA Associates, Inc. are collectively selling approximately 40.9 million shares of the approximate 127 million shares they currently hold. Chairman and founder Joe Ricketts and some of his family are selling in the offering to the public approximately 3.3 million shares of the approximate 121 million shares currently held by, or for the benefit of, members of the Ricketts family.

The joint book-running managers for the offering are Credit Suisse First Boston and Citigroup. The selling shareholders have granted the underwriters an option to purchase up to approximately 6.6 million additional shares to cover over-allotments, if any.

A registration statement relating to these securities has been filed with the SEC but has not yet become effective. These securities may not be sold nor may offers to buy be accepted prior to the time the registration statement becomes effective. This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy, nor shall there be any sales of these securities in any state in which such an offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state.

Copies of the final prospectus related to the offering, when available, may be obtained from Credit Suisse First Boston LLC, Prospectus Department, One Madison Avenue, New York, New York 10010 (telephone no. 212-325-2580) or Citigroup Global Markets Inc., 140 58th Street, 8th Floor, Brooklyn, New York 11220 (telephone no. 718-765-6744).

About Ameritrade Holding Corporation

Ameritrade Holding Corporation services self-directed investors. Ameritrade develops and provides innovative brokerage products and services tailored to meet the varying investing and portfolio management needs of individual investors and institutional distribution partners.

Safe Harbor 

This document contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws. We intend these forward-looking statements to be covered by the safe harbor provisions of the federal securities laws. In particular, any statements regarding the proposed offering by the selling shareholders and the Company's plan to repurchase shares from the selling shareholders concurrently with the proposed offering are forward-looking statements. These statements reflect only our current expectations and are not guarantees of future performance or results. These statements involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions that could cause actual results or performance to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements. These risks, uncertainties and assumptions include the completion of the proposed offering by the selling shareholders and the proposed plan of the Company to repurchase shares from the selling shareholders concurrently with the proposed offering and risk factors described in the Form S-3 registration statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date on which the statements were made. We undertake no obligation to update or revise publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.